//------------------------------// // A race to the finish // Story: Foalish Misadventures // by GrassAndClouds2 //------------------------------// The laughter had managed to quell whatever tensions remained in the group, and Dinky began to tell them what their next step was. “Okay, we have all the stuff. Let’s go back to the magic circle in the woods, fix it, and set up the counterspell. Then we just need a strong unicorn to cast it.” Dinky frowned. “I think Miss Trixie is still our best bet.” “But she’s gone crazy!” said Diamond Tiara. “But zebra magic is just chanting, right?” asked Twist. “She could probably do that even when drunk.” “But if she said a word wrong, we could all be, ah dunno, turned inta apples!” called Apple Bloom (who was standing guard just outside the door), sounding genuinely afraid of this possibility. “That’d be awful!” “I don’t think that’s likely.” Dinky smiled brightly. “Her special talent’s magic. And she told me she’s been studying zebra magic too. That must mean she’s really good. Besides, she’d never mess up a spell!” “Lyra says different,” said Twist, but she wouldn’t elaborate. “Well, we need a unicorn,” said Dinky, “So unless Snails or I try it, or we can find a unicorn that isn’t all silly, we probably need Miss Trixie.” Scootaloo paused. “Hey, uh, wait a minute. Do we have to turn back all the ponies?” “What do you mean?” asked Twist. “I mean… sure, it’s annoying that the other foals like Sweetie are being really silly, but I kind of like the adults like this.” Scootaloo grinned. “They’re letting us do whatever we want! And it’s not like they’re getting hurt by it.” Dinky frowned. “But they’re not there to watch out for us.” “Come on, we don’t need them to do that. We can handle ourselves.” Scootaloo grinned. “It’s just nice to be able to do what we want without them telling us to ‘be safe’ or whatever.” “But we can’t do what we want,” mused Dinky, slowly. “Sure we can,” said Scootaloo. “Okay, what do you want to do?” Scootaloo thought. “Right now? Uh… maybe get a brownie from Sugar Cube!” “But you can’t, because Pinkie’s not baking, she’s partying with the other foals,” said Dinky. Snails stuck out his tongue. “I tried her last batch. They were kind of gross. I think she put worms in them for some reason.” “Well, then I want to go ride around on my scooter.” “But the streets are all filled with trash!” said Twist. “Isn’t it more fun riding when the streets are clear?” “Sure… I guess…” Scootaloo frowned. “Okay, it sucks that the adults aren’t doing their jobs. But isn’t it nice that they aren’t telling us what to do either?” “No!” Dinky looked a little upset. “My Momma tells me what to do because she loves me and wants me to grow up right. That why all of the adults do it.” “But they don’t always know,” said Snails. “…isn’t Snips not here because he ate more toffees than his parents would let him and got sick?” “Oh. Right.” “And didn’t you have to sleep outside last night because bugs took over your house?” “Uh…” Dinky turned to Twist. “And you told me once that you’d be way behind in math if Bonbon didn’t tell you when to stop doing candy stuff and start doing homework.” The foals were silent for a while, and then Scootaloo sighed. “Alright, alright. Let’s go save the adults.” She frowned. “But I want a few more days off of school. For being a hero!” Dinky giggled. “Alright! Let’s go find Trixie and then cure the adults!” Snails grinned. “Well, we already have her show stuff. That’s halfway there, right?” “Her show stuff?” Dinky blinked. “Snails, you got the magic items Zecora told us about from her house, right? Aconite, quartz, a hair from a unicorn’s shoulder, an owl quill?” “What? No, I got much better stuff!” Snails opened up his saddlebag and pulled out a hat and cloak. “This is what Trixie uses to do her magic! With this, we’re good to go!” The other foals, in unison, bonked their heads against the clubhouse wall. * It was a simple plan. Dinky thought she knew where Trixie kept all of the ingredients they needed besides one – the bottle of bourbon that Zecora had tried to bewitch. So, Twist and Bee Bop were going to look for the other ingredients, and Diamond Tiara and Dinky would talk to Trixie and try to find out where she’d hidden the bottle. Snails would be the lookout, and Scootaloo, guarding the rest of the ingredients in her scooter, would also help them run away once they had everything. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom would go with Zecora to the train station, and if they didn’t fix everything by nightfall – or the counterspell didn’t work – she would go to Canterlot and give Zecora to the guards. As they approached the Representative’s Residence, Diamond Tiara had one question. “What if Trixie already drank the bourbon?” “I don’t think she did. She said she was putting it somewhere safe to send to Canterlot. It would probably be harder to get to than her other bottles, so she’d drink it last.” Dinky smiled. “And she’s got, like, thirty bottles in storage, so she’d have to go through all those before she got to this one!” They stared at each other. “What? She can’t drink thirty bottles that fast, can she?” asked Dinky. Diamond Tiara continued to stare. “We should hurry, shouldn’t we?” “Uh. Yeah.” “Thanks for backing me up, Diamond Tiara,” said Dinky, as they approached the Representative’s Residence. “I really appreciate it.” Diamond Tiara shrugged. “Well, you’re being really brave and, uh, leader-y.” She paused. “But don’t you dare tell anypony in school I said that.” Dinky smiled. “Of course not.” They passed through the gate. “You’ve been scooting with Scootaloo a lot, lately. Is it fun?” “Of course not! She’s too fast and crazy!” Dinky giggled. “I think she likes scooting with you.” “Really? I mean, why would you think that?” “After she hurt Miss Cherilee that one time, she found you to help her get her presents, right?” Diamond Tiara nodded. “She told me later that she had a lot of fun doing that.” “Well, I was just helping her. She didn’t know what to—“ Further conversation was made impossible when the door to Trixie’s house banged open. Trixie was there, looking incredibly drunk. “Bonjour, Dinkster! Entrez-vous!” Dinky trotted in, Diamond Tiara right behind her. “Uh, Miss Trixie? Can we ask you something?” “Oui oui!” Trixie laughed, stumbling back and forth in the messy hallway. “Always!” Dinky recalled the story she’d come up with. “Do you still have that bottle of bourbon that the zebra was trying to cast a spell on? I wanted to try a little bourbon, and since you said you weren’t going to drink any from that one—“ Trixie blinked. “Hey, that’s right! I forgot all about that one!” The blue mare grinned. “Yeah, I’ll get it!” (From upstairs, Dinky heard a soft crash as Bee Bop broke through her upper window, and then a slamming sound as Twist jumped in from a nearby tree branch). Trixie went to a picture on the wall and removed it to reveal a safe. She opened the safe door, showing that it contained a bunch of empty bourbon bottles. She swept them to the ground with a wave of her hoof and took out a key, which she put in a little, locked drawer in her desk. Before Trixie could do anything else, she paused as a small ‘thump’ sounded from upstairs. “Qu’est-ce que c’est?” she mused. “So!” said Diamond Tiara, to try to distract Trixie. “That’s a really love shade of blue in your coat, Trixie. Is it natural?” “Mais oui! Lulamoon would never dye her coat!” Trixie struck a pose. “Perhaps the mayor does, but never moi!” “It looks really pretty,” said Dinky. And then, trying to come up with something else to distract her, she added, “And I really like your mane!” Trixie’s mane was wild and scraggly, having apparently not been combed in days. “Aw, vous etes belles aussi,” she said, ruffling Dinky’s mane hard enough to send Dinky tumbling into a bookcase. The foal ‘eeped’ and jumped out of the way just before a bunch of books fell on her. From upstairs, Dinky heard the sound of more glass breaking. She frowned, not knowing what was going on. But she had to keep stalling until she could get the bourbon and they could all escape. Trixie’s horn glowed again, and the bottle of bourbon floated from the desk to the center of the table. “Now, not a word to your mother,” said Trixie, winking to Dinky. “She wouldn’t like it. But eh, what does she know? We’ve gotta have fun!” “Have you seen Momma?” asked Dinky. She hadn’t seen her mother all day, and while she’d been hoping that meant that Ditzy was hiding in the post office or their apartment or something, she was still a bit nervous. “Yeah, I went over to her house to invite her over to play!” Trixie laughed. “Mais elle parlez ‘non!’ Your mom’s awesome, kiddo, but kind of a stick in the mud!” Dinky let out a sigh of relief. And then, from upstairs came the sound of running hoofsteps, and Twist and Bee Bop dashed down the stairs with bulging saddlebags. “We got all the supplies!” they yelled. Trixie sprang up. “Quoi?!” Dinky levitated the bourbon and jammed it into her bag. “Come on!” “Non! C’est ma bourbon!” Trixie’s horn flashed a bright, angry blue. “Non, non, non!” The doors and windows seemed to vanish. Bee Bop, Twist, and Diamond Tiara cried out, but Dinky shook her head. “It’s just an illusion! I know where the exits are!” “Donnez-moi le bourbon!” Trixie leapt at Dinky, but she quickly used her telekinesis to hurl the bourbon at Diamond Tiara, who managed to catch it and scampered across the room. Trixie dove at her next, sending papers and knickknacks flying from Pokey’s desk when she crashed into it. Diamond Tiara managed to duck low to dodge her and then hurry to the other side of the room. How do all those bad ponies that come to town keep getting out of this room? mused Dinky. She carefully levitated a big paperweight with her horn. Trixie cried out something that Dinky didn’t understand, and Diamond Tiara yelped as she found herself hurled up into the air and attached to the ceiling. The bourbon went flying – but, just before Trixie could nab it, Bee Bop flew up and grabbed it. This continued for almost a full minute, with the foals passing the bourbon back and forth between them and the inebriated Trixie growing steadily more frustrated with her inability get it back. She would, Dinky have figured, used magic to get it back, but she didn’t want to risk breaking the bottle with telekinesis, and she liked the other three foals in the room enough to not want to just curse them and stick them to the ceiling like she had Diamond Tiara. “Mauvaises filles!” roared Trixie after another leap at Dinky resulted in her bonking her nose against the wall. (Dinky, for her part, dodged and threw the bourbon to Bee Bop). The blue mare summoned some sort of magic lasso, which she also sent at Bee Bop. Bee Bop tossed the bourbon to Twist just before the lasso wrapped around her wings and sent her tumbling down and rolling into a bookshelf. Another avalanche of books ensued. “Everypony, shut your eyes!” yelled Dinky, before focusing on her ‘light’ spell. Her horn glowed with a bright, blinding light. She heard a loud ‘thump’ as Trixie crashed into something and went sprawling. “Eek! Her spell’s coming apart! I’m falling!” yelled Diamond Tiara. Dinky stopped the light spell and raced to get under Diamond Tiara, but she was across the room. Dinky didn’t think she’d make it in time – but then there was the sound of breaking glass, and Scootaloo and her scooter roared through the front window and under Diamond Tiara just before she fell. Instead of hitting the floor or carpet, she crashed onto the wagon Scootaloo had tied to her scooter, which had a thick cushion “Woah! That was so cool!” said Bee Bop, getting loose of the magic lasso. For once, Diamond Tiara didn’t dispute that. “Let’s go! Next stop, Whitetail Woods!” yelled Scootaloo, as the ponies began piling into the wagon attached to the scooter. “Dinky, help me move with your magic!” “Vous etes mauvaises filles, et je punissiez vous!” cried out Trixie, staggering to her hooves. “Je—“ A small cloud of sulfur, maybe, popped into existence right in front of her face. “Huh?” said Trixie, gagging at the cloud. “Mon nez! Mon pauvre, belle nez!” Dinky looked outside to see Snails, horn glowing dully. “Did it work?” he asked, eager to know. “Did the spell work?” “What was it supposed to do?” asked Twist. “Summon a giant bug monster to hold her off!” “No,” said Bee Bop. “It just made a gas cloud.” “Oh, well… that’s still cool, right?” “No comment,” muttered Diamond Tiara. She was hanging on tightly to Scootaloo. (Dinky couldn’t help but notice that the other three foals were in the attached wagon, but Diamond Tiara had somehow wound up behind Scootaloo on the scooter itself). Snails jumped into the wagon, and both Dinky and Snails began using their telekinesis to push the scooter to help Scootaloo move. “Let’s go lift the curse!” said Dinky. Scootaloo paused as they left through Trixie’s front gate. “Hey, Dinky. Didn’t you say we needed Trixie herself to cast the counterspell?” Dinky blinked and turned back to the house. “Uh. Should we go back and get her?” “THERE THEY ARE!” The foals turned to see what looked like half the adults in town charging at them. “THEY AIN'T DRINKING YET! GET 'EM!” slurred Berry Punch, running at them and knocking a few lampposts out of her way as she did so. “No time! We’ll have to cast it ourselves!” yelled Scootaloo. “Everypony, hang on!” Dinky had once read, in a goofy foal’s book, that if you went fast enough you could go back in time. At the speed they were going, she wouldn’t have been surprised to wind up in pre-Corona Canterlot. They zipped through the town, dodging the adults who were charging after them. Some of the adults dove at them, forcing Scootaloo to dodge left or right and send the wagon skidding wildly across the streets. It didn’t help that most of the paths and roads by now were clogged with garbage, making the ride bumpy even in the best of circumstances. “Hey, that’s the Sugar Cube!” yelled Twist. “… why’s it on fire?” “CRÈME BRULEE DAY!” screamed Pinkie as they zipped past. “We’ll brulee all the crème in town!” “Yay!” yelled Sweetie Belle, from an upstairs window. “Oh.” “Rainbow Dash at six o’clock!” yelled Scootaloo. “Six o’clock?” Snails blinked. “Oh, no! I’m supposed to be home by now!” “That’s not what that… never mind.” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. Dinky turned to see the cyan weather pony zipping at them, impossibly fast, and with a big barrel of cider balanced on her back. “I’ll lose her!” Scootaloo turned down a narrow side street and then into a building. “Are you crazy!” yelled Diamond Tiara as they zoomed past a wagon up on blocks and into a hallway. They seemed to be in a large building with many wagons in various states of (dis)repair. “No, I know this place! My dad sells them wheels all the time!” Scootaloo grinned. “We’ll do a couple laps until she flies off, then— There was a smashing sound, and then Rainbow Dash blasted through the ceiling. “Hey Scoots! If you wanna be even half as cool as me, you gotta drink cider!” She sped at them. Bee Bop stood up. “LOOK,” she boomed. “OVER THERE! A WONDERBOLT!” She managed to get Rainbow Dashs’s attention, despite her drunken state. “Where?!” The cyan pegasus turned to look – and plowed into a couple of wagons, breaking her barrel of cider and spilling it all over the floor. “Hurry!” said Twist. “Let’s get out of here!” Scootaloo nodded and they began to zip towards the exit. Dinky looked at Bee Bop. “How did you know that would work?” “Just cause I’m real loud doesn’t mean I don’t listen,” sniffed Bee Bop. “Besides. We live right near her. She’s always talking about how she’s going to join them someday.” Dinky smiled. “That was really smart!” Bee Bop grinned. Dinky had been hoping that they’d lose the mob by ducking into the building – if for no other reason than her getting tired from using her telekinesis to help Scootaloo move forwards – but it was not to be. When they exited the building, they bumped right into Honeydew. “Dear!” Honeydew grabbed at Twist and hugged her right off the scooter. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.” “I—“ “That you haven’t been PARTYING ENOUGH!” Honeydew laughed and quickly got some candies out of her saddlebags. “You haven’t even tried Bonbonie's newest creation! Okra crunch!” The foals gagged in unison. Honeydew frowned and moved right in front of the scooter to block it. “Now, open up, and—“ Diamond Tiara leapt up and onto Honeydew’s back, placing her front hooves over her eyes. As Honeydew squeaked and tried to get Diamond Tiara off of her, and Diamond Tiara hung on, Dinky quickly used her telekinesis to help Twist back into the wagon. “Let’s go!” They took off, Diamond Tiara jumping back onto the scooter as they zipped away. “Get back here!” Honeydew began to race after them, quickly drawing the attention of the other adults. She tried to grab them with her telekinesis, but she wasn’t steady enough to succeed. “Stop them! They aren’t having enough fun!” “I’m having tons of fun!” yelled Scootaloo. “That’s cause you’re nuts!” responded Diamond Tiara. “Hang on, I’m gonna try to jump the stream!” Dinky chuckled. At least they were making progress. Their route took them by the schoolroom, where Cherilee and some other pony – Flitter, Dinky thought – were counting out candies and bottles of beer from a big bag. “Now, remember,” Cherilee was saying, “The key to a successful burglary is hiding what you’ve taken.” “Then why – hic – are we counting it outside?” Cherilee blinked. “Because it’s too nice a day to go inside.” The purple mare looked up and saw the foals. “Hey, they’re breaking the law!” She got to her hooves, swaying a bit. “The latest law in Ponyville says you have to be drunk to be here!” “Uh oh,” whispered Scootaloo. “Cherilee’s really fast too! If she chases us, we’re in trouble!” “How do you know?” “She caught me playing hooky once. She chased me halfway to Cloudsdale to get me. And she can’t even fly!” Snails grinned. “Miss Cherilee,” he called, “Hi! How’re you doing?” “Just fine,” said Cherilee. “But you’re breaking the rules, Snails. You haven’t drunk nearly enough cider!” Snails grinned. “I made you something!” “I… what?” “A Hearts and Hooves Day present!” Cherilee blinked. “But that’s not for months.” “So? It’s right there, under that big rock!” Confused – but presumably too drunk to figure out why – Cherilee and Flitter went over to the rock, and Cherilee lifted it up. “What --- aah!” A huge mass of ants erupted at her. Snails turned to the others. “When Raindrops made me get rid of all my bugs two weeks ago, I put them somewhere I knew I could find whenever I needed them.” “By the school? Ugh!” said Diamond Tiara. “Wait, we can’t just let Cherilee get eaten by bugs!” cried out Dinky. “They’re SO CUTE!” Flitter was fawning over the ants, while Cherilee poked them and giggled. “Help me name them, Cherilee! I’m going to name you Fluffy, and you Rover, and you Dinky—“ Dinky opened her mouth to object to the last one, but Scootaloo was already pulling away. They made their way to Whitetail Woods and back to the magic circle area, where they began setting up the new spell. “We still need a really good unicorn,” said Twist. “I mean, you’re cool, Dinky, but you’ve never cast zebra magic before.” “And I don’t think we want Snails casting anything that isn’t gross,” said Diamond Tiara. She was stumbling around, looking a bit woozy from the wild ride, but unusually, she wasn’t complaining about it. “He probably doesn’t know how.” “I do too!” said Snails. “Because bugs aren’t gross!” Twist and Bee Bop were repainting the magic circle. “Can’t we just ask a unicorn from out of town? I mean, the Friendship Express still stops in town, right?” asked Twist. “Maybe there’s a unicorn on the next train.” “But what if they aren’t any good at magic?” asked Dinky. “We need Trixie.” “THERE YOU ARE!” The foals all turned to see a dirty and dusty Trixie – with ants in her mane – appearing from behind a tree. “The Great and Powerful Lulamoon knew you’d be back here!” “How?!” demanded Twist. “Magic?” “Psychich powers?” asked Scootaloo. “She heard you talking about it.” “… oh,” said Dinky. “Now she will take back what is hers!” Trixie laughed, and somewhere, thunder boomed. “Donnez-moi la bourbon!” “No!” Dinky had an idea. “Because that bourbon belongs to Trixie Lulamoon, and you aren’t her!” “… what? Yes I am! C’est vraiment!” Trixie grinned. Diamond Tiara seemed to get the idea. “No, the real Trixie can cast magic. Prove you’re her by casting a spell.” “Yeah!” said Twist. “I bet you’re just an imposter who wants to steal her bourbon!” “You’re not nearly as cool as she is!” yelled Scootaloo. Snails blinked. “I think it’s really her—“ but then Twist ran over and put her hoof over his mouth. “PROVE IT!” roared Bee Bop to Trixie, sending the other foals (and even the blue mare) stumbling back a few steps. Trixie blinked. “Fine. I will make the stars themselves shake and fall from the sky! I will bring the heavens and the land together!” She raised her hooves, and her horn glowed blue. “Princess Luna might not like that!” said Dinky. “Maybe you should just cast this zebra spell.” Trixie blinked. “Zebra spell?” “Yeah, it’s a really, really hard spell! Only the real Trixie Lulamoon, the best magician in the world, could cast it!” Dinky grinned brightly. “Please?” Whether it was the ego-stroking or the cuteness that convinced Trixie, Dinky didn’t know, but the Element of Magic strode into the center of the circle – where the bourbon had been placed. The foals quickly set up the rest of the items as Trixie stretched. “Fine. Trixie will cast the spell and get her bourbon back. And then-_” The grasses on the ground suddenly shot up and wrapped around the foals’ legs, trapping them – “We’ll all have a huge bourbon party! It’ll last forever!” “Forever!” yelled Pinkie Pie, poking her head out of a tree. Trixie blinked. “…Pinkie, what are you doing?” “Finding more crème to brulee. All of mine burned up for some reason. Bye!” Trixie shook her head as the pink pony vanished. She looked at the list of spell words, smiling, and began to chant. Dinky shut her eyes as the chanting grew in intensity. She could feel the magic moving in the area. What would happen? Would the spell be lifted? Would the town be cursed forever? Would— There was a great ‘whooshing’ noise, and then all was silent.